- This article is about Zelda and Sheik's down special in Melee and Brawl. For Pokémon Trainer's down special, see Pokémon Change. For Pyra and Mythra's down special, see Swap. For info on the transformation of stages, see Stage transformation.
| Transform | |
|---|---|
 Zelda transforms into Sheik in Brawl. | |
| Users | Zelda Sheik |
| Universe | The Legend of Zelda |
| Article on Zelda Wiki | Sheik |
Transform (シークチェンジ, Sheik Change and ゼルダチェンジ, Zelda Change) is Zelda and Sheik's down special move in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It allows Zelda and Sheik to turn into each other.
Overview
In Melee, both Zelda and Sheik are loaded in the game's memory at all times, allowing the transformation to occur instantly with no loading required. In Brawl, however, the new character must be loaded from the disc mid-transformation, which forces it to take much longer; because this is true, if two Zeldas/Sheiks are using the same palette swap through glitch or team battle, transforming into the other player's active character will be essentially instant as the data is already loaded. While the intangibility during the loading can be useful for dodging Final Smashes and boss attacks, it has an unpredictable duration and makes the move much easier to punish on completion. The delay can be shortened in terms of game time by pausing or through a slow motion effect such as the Timer; if replay data containing either of these happening is saved, the game will pause in-replay to finish the loading. Forcing the game to load the next character through an SD card via hacking will result in a transformation time comparable to Melee's, due to SD cards naturally being faster to access than the game disc.
Transform was replaced by Phantom Slash for Zelda and Bouncing Fish for Sheik starting with Smash 4.
Instructional quotes
 instruction booklet |
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Change into Sheik. Enemy attacks halt the transformation. |
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Change into Zelda. Damage percentage before and after the transformation remains the same. | |
 instruction booklet |
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Transform into Zelda's alter ego, Sheik. Taking damage while transforming cancels the transformation. |
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Transform into Zelda. Damage percentage carries over to your new form. |
Origin
The move is based on The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time where Sheik reveals herself to have been Zelda in disguise all along. Using the power of the Triforce of Wisdom, she is able to physically change her appearance, allowing her to disguise herself by changing her clothing, hair, eye, and skin color. The sound that plays when Zelda/Sheik transform is the traditional "secret revealed" and "puzzle solved" jingle from The Legend of Zelda series. When Sheik reveals herself as Zelda, she crosses her hands, while the final Triforce piece appears on her hand, and then spins toward the screen, revealing her to be Zelda.
Gallery
Zelda begins to transform in Melee.
Sheik begins to transform in Melee.
Zelda begins to transform in Brawl.
In Brawl, as the form is changing, the disc must load in order for the process to be complete.
Zelda is finally transformed into Sheik, her alter ego.
Trivia
- Transform was originally planned to return in SSB4 as Zelda and Sheik's down special. But due to Nintendo 3DS hardware limitations, they were instead split into two independent playable characters with new down special moves.
- This remains the case in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate even in the absence of such technical constraints, following from the statement by Masahiro Sakurai that Zelda and Sheik (as well as Samus and Zero Suit Samus) are more fresh and less limited as individual characters.
- Despite this, Pokémon Trainer for Ultimate kept the Pokémon Change move, and Charizard, Ivysaur, and Squirtle are part of the shared character of the Pokémon Trainer. Because of this, Charizard from Smash 4 is no longer a standalone character in Ultimate, being the only separated character to later be regrouped with their partners.
- Also, Pyra and Mythra have the move Swap, which acts identically to Transform and makes the two a spiritual successor to Sheik and Zelda.
- Transform is the only down special transformation move not to be based on a mechanic from the fighter's game of origin; Pokémon Change is based on the option to recall Pokémon in battle and send out a new one, while Swap is based on the ability for Rex to spontaneously switch between Pyra and Mythra as his Blade in battle.
- Transform, Agility, PSI Magnet and Teleport are the only attacks in Melee to have no direct effect on opponents.
- In Brawl, only one character can be loaded at once, so if multiple Transforms or Pokémon Changes occur at the same time, they must each wait for the previous one to complete.
- In Brawl, if Zelda/Sheik is shrunk or enlarged by someone else picking up a Lightning Bolt, and then, while small or big, transforms, she will not naturally return to her normal size until she is KO'ed, even if she transforms a second time.
- The ending animation for when Zelda transforms into Sheik was also used for Sheik's entrance animation in Brawl.
- Due to the difference in tier list positions between Sheik and Zelda in Melee, Zelda's version of Transform is jokingly considered one of the best moves in the game, as it, quite literally, transforms her into a top tier character (or, in the earlier tier lists, the best character in the game).
